Every car has a story, and the story on the HHR is easily one of the most unusual in the Ghostworks Garage. It began back in 2005 when Chevy was preparing to launch the all-new HHR. In order to show the customizing potential of the new wagon, Chevy approached a handful of car builders around the country and asked about building a custom HHR for an upcoming TV show and for display use at varying venues the next year. We were fortunate enough to be asked, and of course we agreed.

So, a little while later, we found ourselves in possession of a pre-production HHR. The good news was we could do whatever we wanted to the car. The bad news was it had to be finished and ready for display in 6 weeks. No time to waste, then….

Well, the build-style seemed obvious to us as classic muscle car fans, we decided to make the HHR a V8, rear-wheel drive sedan delivery. We sourced a prototype carbureted LS6 engine that was originally designed as a spec engine for a now-defunct circle-track series and decided it would make a great powerplant. Behind that we bolted up a heavily modified TH700R4 which ran to a 10-bolt rear out of a 4th-gen Z28. We modified and strengthened the HHR’s front suspension and added coil-overs and big brakes. Out back we modified a 4th-gen f-body control arm/torque arm setup to work in the HHR, of course adding better components and coil-overs for adjustability. In between the front and rear suspension we did a bunch of cutting and rewelding! We had creat our own trans and driveshaft tunnel, and build mounting points for the rear suspension. And just in case the 585-horses made by the LS6 wasn’t enough, we added a big NOS kit.

We removed the rear windows and welded up the openings to make our Sedan Delivery body style. Inside we built a higher floor to clear the driveshaft tunnel and new rear suspension mounting points, and finished it with a wood/stainless setup designed for a classic pickup. We mounted up a cool set of billet Rally wheels, and dressed up the outside with a cool paint scheme. Finally, we renamed it the Heritage Hot Rod.

We finished the HHR in time to take it to a show or two before it had to be sent to Chevy. We drove it a bit, and as you can imagine it ran great, but was a bit more grumpy than your standard HHR. The car was shipped to California where it joined its brothers built by the other shops. Shortly after that, Chevy loaded all of them up and took them on the HHR promotional tour. We haven’t seen it since.